Christmastime Conspiracies
by Simba72598
Summary: In Harry's mind, there's nothing better than Christmas at the Burrow. When the Weasleys open up their home to all their extended friends and family for a Boxing Day celebration, Harry observes everyone's interactions, especially Neville and Luna's.


_**So, recently I've been on a Harry Potter kick and I realized that even though Neville and Luna are my favorite OTP, I've never actually written about them. This fic remedies that! I hope you like it; enjoy!**_

•••

As the Christmas Day excitement wound to a stop, Harry took off his glasses and leaned back in his chair. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so content. Of course, he had just spent the past four months stressing about his N.E.W.T. retakes—since obviously he had missed the exams in the spring—but now that the tests were over, his career as an Auror was set to officially begin. Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Minister of Magic himself, had made sure Harry would have a position as soon as he was ready.

True, Harry supposed no one was going to turn him away from a job interview (he grinned at the very idea), but it was nice to know Kingsley had already taken the effort to arrange everything.

Ron was snoring in the chair beside him. Harry smiled sleepily. Ron planned to take his N.E.W.T.s in the upcoming spring with Hermione. She had insisted on relearning everything seventh years were supposed to be taught, and Ron had been all too happy to postpone his exams in favor of hanging out with her more. Of course, Ron's career as an Auror was pretty much lined up too. Who would say no to Harry Potter's best friends? Still, Hermione had insisted they needed to take their N.E.W.T.s first, or else people would always be scoffing that their celebrity status was more important than their skills.

Frankly, Harry thought that would always be true—no matter how successful his career might be, most people weren't ever going to look at him and think, "Wow, Harry Potter, what a talented Auror!" Yet, as usual, Harry had figured it was best not to argue with Hermione. And the past few months had been fun—occasionally visiting Hogwarts to ask McGonagall questions and then go study with Ginny.

Or…more accurately…not study with Ginny.

Harry's vision was blurry without his glasses, but he could still make out Ginny's fiery long hair from across the room. He was content to watch her, quietly reminiscing their stolen moments back on the Hogwarts grounds. Currently, she was sitting with Bill and Fleur, helping George come up with bets.

"It'll be a girl; she'll go to Hogwarts and be a Gryffindor—and obviously a member of the Quidditch team. Twenty galleons."

"It'll be a boy; he'll go to Beauxbatons, and seduce all the French kids because he'll be the prettiest guy around. Fifteen galleons."

"It'll be a werewolf-veela girl; she'll be a Gryffindor prefect and then marry Teddy. Forty-five galleons."

"It'll be a werewolf-pretty-boy who will scare all the kids at Beauxbatons. Ten galleons."

Charlie joined the group, laughing, but Bill shooed him away. "Okay, no more bets on my child's life, please. I'm going to start having nightmares about that dragon one you were going off about at dinner."

"Zat was terrible," Fleur agreed, crossing her arms over her belly. Harry could hardly tell she was expecting, but the whole family had talked of nothing else for the past few days. Mrs. Weasley was over the moon.

If there had ever been a time when the Weasleys didn't fully approve of Fleur, it was completely erased from memory. By being pregnant with the first grandchild, she had become the most popular member of the family. Even Ginny and Hermione had been spending time with her, thick as thieves. They'd wasted hours on Christmas morning talking about baby names and laughing about Bill's reaction to the news—all of which was amusing, but slightly boring to Harry and Ron. They had gathered up George, Charlie, Bill, and even Percy to go play Quidditch with them. Though Percy had been a horrible player, it had been fun.

Harry was even more excited for the following day. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had agreed that in lieu of the recent year's drastic events, that celebrating with friends was more important than ever. A Boxing Day feast was planned for everyone left in the disbanded-Order, not to mention Hermione's parents (pieces of their memories carefully restored), Andromeda Tonks and little Teddy Lupin, Penelope Clearwater—whom Percy had made up with after a few years of rockiness—Neville and his grandma, Luna and her father, and of course, Hagrid.

It was a good thing the Burrow could be expanded with magic, Harry thought repeatedly.

"Wake up, Ron! You're not going to sleep down here, are you?" Hermione asked, wandering over to the chair next to Harry, where her boyfriend was soundly dozing.

"What time is it?" yawned Harry groggily.

"A quarter past midnight," Hermione quickly replied.

"Which means lights out," said Mrs. Weasley, using her wand to start whooshing out candles and lanterns.

"Goodnight, everybody," Charlie waved, starting up the staircase. "Happy Christmas!" He was sharing a room with George and Percy, both of whom had already headed upstairs. Harry was in Ron's room, just like old times.

While echoes of 'Happy Christmas' fluttered through the house, Harry stood up and stretched his arms. Ginny came toward him, smiling.

"Goodnight Harry—Happy Christmas." She yawned and then reached for his neck, kissing him so solidly he almost fell back in the chair. Ron woke up to the sight and groaned.

Harry just laughed sheepishly, then kissed Ginny back before starting up the stairs.

The comparisons between last Christmas and the current Christmas were so stark Harry didn't even know what to think, except that he was extremely lucky to be so fortunate.

•••

When morning dawned, George was shouting for everyone to look out the windows.

"Do you see all the snow?!"

"Snow? What snow?" Ron called from the landing. "I can't see anything."

"Ha! Got ya!"

"It's not April Fool's, George. Quit yanking my wand."

"Happy Boxing Day to you too, dear brother."

Harry got dressed hurriedly in his newest Weasley sweater and went downstairs to help with breakfast. Kingsley had apparently taken the news of a Boxing Day feast to heart, because he was already in the kitchen, visiting with Mr. Weasley and Percy.

"…already trying to implement some new protocols. Obviously, we saw how out of control the ministry became and so—Happy Christmas, Mr. Potter," Kingsley interrupted himself.

"Err, to you too," said Harry as Mrs. Weasley motioned for him to help himself to leftover cinnamon pastries. Within half an hour, the majority of the Weasleys had traipsed downstairs and Andromeda had arrived with Teddy. As interesting as Kingsley's political restructuring proposals were, Harry was glad for the excuse to go play with his godson. After all, it was still the holidays. The serious issues could wait until Harry actually started work.

"Blimey, when did you have a baby?" Ron asked as he sat down beside Harry. Teddy was happily babbling on Harry's lap, his hair changed to a perfect imitation of Harry's own unruly look. It was a little disconcerting, thought Harry. To an outsider, Teddy did appear to be his son.

"What? You mean I forgot to tell you?" Harry replied teasingly, though he tried not to think too much about the subject. Kids were a long way off. For sure.

"Oohhh!" Teddy laughed excitedly as someone knocked on the door. Harry glanced up and smiled as Neville, Luna, and Xenophilious entered the Burrow.

"What happened to your grandma?" Mrs. Weasley pounced on Neville. "She was invited too!"

"Oh, she knows, and she might show up later, but she had a friend over for tea and said I could go on ahead to the Lovegood's."

"How come you went there first? You could've just come here." Ginny spoke suspiciously, giving both of her friends a hug.

Neville scratched the back of his neck. "Of course. But Mr. Lovegood's been feeling a bit off and so they were going to use a portkey—instead of apparating. I hardly ever get to use a portkey. It sounded more fun," Neville insisted, not meeting Ginny's eyes.

Harry thought that was a bit of an odd excuse, but he was happy to see his friends. He carried Teddy over, wishing the kid would change his hair a different shade.

"Happy Christmas! Happy Christmas! You are all in good health and safe from the hobgoblins, I suppose?" Xeno said, walking around the kitchen and heartily shaking hands with everyone.

"Are we supposed to be in danger from the hobgoblins?" Andromeda asked, rather unwisely. Harry and his companions hurried to the living room before Xeno could launch into his conspiracy.

"How's your studying going, mate?" Ron asked Neville, as he sank into the couch cushions beside Hermione. Harry, still holding Teddy, sat next to Ginny on the mantle, leaving the loveseat for Neville and Luna. The latter didn't seem to mind, but Neville looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Um, studying, yeah, um…it's going well. Pretty much." He winced and rubbed his neck again. "I thought I had learned a lot last year, leading the D.A. and all. But now…turns out I didn't teach myself as much as I thought."

"It's okay, Neville," said Luna airily. She patted his leg. "If you fail everything, that just means you won't be a target for the Didicit Recruiters."

"The what?" sniffed Hermione, sounding rather annoyed. Harry thought she would've learned not to question Luna, but apparently that was a skill she was still working on.

"Oh yes, the Didicit Recruiters," said Luna. "You had better be careful, Hermione. If you do too well in your N.E.W.T.s, they'll take notice of your potential. Then, should the ministry ever collapse again, the Didicit Recruiters will target you and attempt to sway you to their side. If you refuse, they may take you out before the rest of the world acknowledges what has happened." She turned to Harry. "When you start Auror work, you need to be careful."

"Thank you, Luna. I will," said Harry, giving Hermione a warning look.

Ron had his face buried in his arm, pretending to cover up a sneeze. Harry took one glance at his friend's hidden expression and mashed his own lips together to keep from laughing.

"So, are you guys up for a tour of the place?" Ginny asked. "I don't think either of you have ever been to the Burrow before."

"No we haven't, and I would love a tour. But I can already tell that your house is lovely," said Luna. "I appreciate that the structuring looks like it might fall over."

Harry snorted so hard he almost dropped Teddy. Ron started laughing too.

Ginny, quite used to her classmate's random comments, led the group on a guided walk through the crowded halls. Penelope arrived during the tour of the kitchen, and Ron begged off, saying he wanted to watch Percy introduce her to everyone.

"George promised me he was going to make it awkward enough that Fred would be proud, so I'll catch you later," Ron whispered to Harry before ducking into the adjacent room.

Teddy was content to stay in Harry's arms throughout the tour, but by the end of the walk, Harry was exhausted. Fortunately, Fleur decided she wanted to hold him, and Harry was happy to watch his godson change his hair into a silvery sheet that matched the former Beauxbaton champion's.

"And that's the Burrow," finished Ginny, taking a bow. Hermione and Neville gave her mock applause, while Luna studied a mishmash of drawings on the living room walls.

There was a polite knock on the door, and Hermione ran to see if it was her parents. They had wanted to arrive by car, and after carefully researching maps, had convinced Hermione that they would make it on their own—she didn't have to worry. Of course, Harry knew his friend had done nothing but fret—as it was, her parents' memories weren't solid. Only random fragments had been reconstructed, which left them more scatterbrained than usual when it came to anything involving their daughter. But still, Hermione was without a doubt thankful to have them there and Harry was happy for her sake.

Once she was out of the room though, that just left Harry and Ginny with Neville and Luna—who were now both inspecting the Weasley artwork collection.

"Is this drawing the likeness of a Wrackspurt?" Luna asked, pointing to a paper covered in brightly colored scribbles.

"Er, no. That's Charlie's first drawing of a dragon."

Harry coughed.

"Neville, look at this one," Luna suddenly said, reaching for her friend's hand and directing him toward a stick figure drawing of what Harry supposed was the Weasley family. The way Luna was admiring the picture might have made one think she was in a professional art museum—with Neville as her reluctant date.

Or maybe not so reluctant, Harry mentally corrected as he watched Neville listen attentively to Luna's ramblings, smiling and occasionally inserting comments. Everyone could agree that Luna was something else, but maybe to Neville she was something more than something else.

Harry reached for Ginny's elbow and pulled her aside. "When you're hanging out with Neville and Luna do you ever think that maybe…?"

"They fancy each other?" Ginny finished for him. She smiled and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Just wait, Harry. It gets better than this, I guarantee you."

While he frowned in confusion, Hagrid arrived and began heartily greeting everyone. Harry and Ginny went to visit with him for a bit, and before Harry knew it, Mrs. Weasley was magically extending the table so everyone could grab a spot to eat lunch.

Mr. Weasley was happily chatting with Hermione's parents—and she and Ron were both sitting with them. Harry fell into a spot between George and Ginny.

"I'm so happy you could all be here!" Mrs. Weasley declared as she set a carved turkey on her end of the table.

"And we are all glad to be invited," said Kingsley in his booming voice. Everyone began digging into their food after that, and Harry listened to George and Ginny's quidditch conversation.

"I'm telling you, the Tornadoes are doing way too good this year. Puddlemore United hasn't got a chance."

"Oliver would have you believe otherwise."

"Of course he would, but have you seen the seeker for the Tornadoes?"

Across from him, Neville and Luna were talking about dangerous plants.

"Devil's snare isn't all that fun," Neville was saying "but if you know what to do with it, there shouldn't be too much risk."

"Which is better than waspflower," Luna agreed, nodding. "Did you know that waspflowers were used as murder weapons during the Punic Wars?"

"I've never even heard of waspflowers," Neville confessed, looking slightly skeptical, but still interested.

"Waspflowers smell good, but excrete an acid that burns your skin if you pick them."

"Yikes."

"I know!" Luna whispered, her eyes wider than usual. She was leaning very close to Neville, almost whispering about the plants.

Harry passed the bowl of potatoes to George, then took a bite of turkey and continued watching the interesting show playing out across the table from him.

"Did you know that snakeroot is actually harmless?" Neville was now asking Luna. "People use it to dye their light-colored hair." He fingered a strand from her blond waves as he spoke. Harry wanted to start grinning, but restrained himself by stuffing his mouth full of more potatoes.

"Really? I never knew that," said Luna, reaching for Neville's hand which was still entwined in her hair. She seemed quite casual about it, but Neville smiled, a blush creeping across his face as she interlocked their fingers and went back to eating.

Unfortunately, Neville then glanced up and noticed Harry staring at them.

Harry lost it. For no real reason, he starting laughing his head off. Ginny and George's conversations stopped. Half of the table fell silent, staring at Harry. Neville's face glowed the color of the Weasleys' hair, but he remained hand-in-hand with Luna, almost defiant.

Ginny thumped Harry on the back. "You okay?"

He got a grip on himself and nodded quickly. The conversations resumed, but now that Neville knew he was being spied on, he was more reserved for the remainder of the meal. Harry was invested though. Neville and Luna were close friends—if they liked each other, he wanted to be in on the gossip.

As everyone cleared the table a little later, Harry cornered Ginny and asked for the full story.

"The battle of Hogwarts," she replied, grinning. "Neville told Luna he liked her—she said that was nice, she liked him too. Of course, it's Luna though. If she likes someone, does that mean she _likes_ them, or just likes them as a friend? Neville wasn't sure, but they spent a lot of time together over the summer, and he visits her just like you visit me. Well, maybe not _just_ like you visit me…" said Ginny, smiling roguishly. "I don't think they spend as much time snogging as we do…"

Harry smirked. "Probably not."

"But anyway…I've talked to both of them individually and there's definitely something there—even for Luna. She adores him…just in her own unusual way."

Harry was intrigued. He obviously had more important things to wonder about—matchmaking was the least of his priorities—but it would be amusing to see Neville and Luna as a couple. Ron and Hermione were together—that itself was proof miracles could happen.

"So?" Ginny tapped Harry's forehead. "I can see you coming up with ideas. What's the plan, man."

Harry rubbed his hands together conspiratorially. "How about we all go outside? I think it's a good day for a scavenger hunt…"

•••

True enough, there was no snow outside, but the air was bitterly cold. Even in his thick jumper, Harry was still chilled within minutes.

"What exactly are we doing out here again?" Hermione asked, trailing behind Harry and Ginny. "It's freezing!"

"We're going to find a weird rock one of the gnomes stole from Hagrid," Harry said. "We don't really know what the rock looks like, so we can't search for it with magic."

"And Hagrid can't tell us?" Ron said, frowning.

"Nope," said Ginny. "He's not the best with descriptions."

"So why isn't he out here?" Neville asked, rubbing his arms.

"Because I was being nice," Harry said. "I volunteered us to go searching for it."

"A rock." Luna repeated to herself, as if she'd never heard of such a thing. "I'm sure we can find plenty of those."

"Oh, but this one will look special," Harry quickly said, with a side glance at Ginny. "I don't know exactly how, but I'm sure of it."

"In my opinion, you're going mental," Ron muttered, but he started staring at the ground intently. "Let's find this bloody rock and get inside. If we're out here too long, we're going to need firewhiskey to thaw us back out."

"Agreed," said Hermione, sticking close to Ron.

"We'll take this area," Harry motioned to Ginny and himself. He then pointed toward Neville and Luna. "You guys take the space around the shed."

"Okay, Harry," Luna complied easily.

With a slightly suspicious glance in Harry's direction, Neville followed Luna toward the shed. He stopped and stared at the ground every few seconds. Luna did the same.

"Come on," Ginny whispered, grabbing Harry's hand and hurriedly pulling him around to the back of the shed. "You ready for phase two?"

Harry reached into his pocket and felt the cluster of mistletoe. "Luna might not like this part. She'll be afraid of Nargles."

Ginny made a scoffing noise in the back of her throat. "Well then Neville will just have to step it up. Come on, it'll work. I know it."

With a shrug, Harry levitated the plant over the shed's doorframe using _Wingardium Leviosa._ The simple spell did the trick. The cluster snagged on the rough-hewn wood and stayed put. Now it was only a matter of waiting and hoping that their companions would walk close enough to notice.

"Brrr, it is cold," Ginny complained as she rubbed her arms and crouched behind the shed's corner next to Harry. "The things we do for the sake of our friends' future happiness…"

Harry just grinned and pulled her close, quite content.

Several minutes passed, then Ginny pointed out that she had no idea where Neville and Luna had disappeared. "I can't see them anymore. Do you think they went inside?"

"I don't know," Harry confessed. He leaned farther around the shed corner, trying to catch a glimpse of their companions.

Then someone tapped him on the shoulder.

Harry, still crouched close to the ground, lost his balance and fell forward on his hands and knees. Ginny yelped and turned to see Neville and Luna.

"Um…? What are you guys doing?" Neville asked. "We'd noticed you disappeared. Aren't we still looking for Hagrid's rock?"

"Right. And we, er…were just taking a quick break."

Neville raised his eyebrows, but Luna spotted the mistletoe.

"Ooh! Did you guys see any Nargles? Is it safe?"

Harry blinked. "Um…yeah. It's safe… If you wanted to test it out…"

"Oh, no thank you, Harry. Ginny probably wouldn't like that much and I have to admit I prefer you as a friend."

Harry's ears went red. Ginny nearly choked on her laughter.

"No, Luna! That's not what I—"

"If we see the rock, we'll let you know," said Luna, leaving Harry and Ginny alone. Neville followed after her, shaking his head in Harry's direction. Evidently, he had figured out the gist of their plot.

Ginny leaned against the shed, her earmuffs sliding down her head as she shook with laughter. Harry just wrinkled his forehead as he watched Neville and Luna continue searching for the rock. "Okay, so that was a bust. What's another strategy?"

"Hhmm," Ginny got a grip on her giggling and screwed up her face in mock concentration. "How about we let them find the rock?"

"There is no rock."

"Exactly." Ginny winked and Harry caught on.

"So, we just let them wander around by themselves for hours?"

"Yep. So that means we should probably tell Ron and Hermione what's going on."

Harry grinned just as deviously as his girlfriend. He still didn't know why he was getting so invested in matchmaking…but it was good fun.

•••

Ten minutes later, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were inside the warm Burrow sipping hot chocolate while they watched Neville and Luna from a window.

"It's so cold outside. What are they doing out there?" Mrs. Weasley asked, stopping to see what the group was looking at.

"Um, well, they're looking for a rock," said Harry.

"You know how Luna is," Ginny added quickly.

Mrs. Weasley just clicked her tongue and went back to the living room where all the adults were having a conversation.

"I still can't believe you made us wander around out there for no reason," Ron was pouting as he drank his coco.

Ginny elbowed him, pointing back to the window. "Look!"

Faint snowflakes were beginning to fall and Luna was skipping around, trying to catch them on her tongue. Neville was joining in—both of them looking utterly ridiculous, but clearly laughing and enjoying themselves, even when Neville tripped over her feet and they both fell into a tangled heap.

"They're adorable," Ginny insisted, squeezing Harry's arm happily. Even Ron and Hermione were beginning to look amused.

Neville helped Luna up and then kept an arm around her waist as they wandered through the yard, still searching for some sort of magic rock. Luna leaned her head against his shoulder, her long hair trapping the falling snow flakes.

"Did you see that?" Ginny cried, suddenly jumping up. "I'm pretty sure he just kissed her forehead!"

"You guys need to get a life," George commented as he walked into the kitchen and peered out the window beside them. "Seriously."

"Like you're not interested too," Ginny chided. "I bet you came in here just to join in."

"Don't make such unlikely bets, dear sister," he replied. Nevertheless, Harry noticed George took extra time pouring himself a cup of coco, and he lingered by the window before returning to the living room to tease Percy and Penelope.

"They just went toward the shed again," Hermione reported in a mildly curious tone. "Just so you know."

"But that means we can't see them," Ginny protested. She put her drink down and reached for her coat. "Come on, Harry!"

"Better you than me, mate," said Ron, looking perfectly content to stay inside the warm kitchen with Hermione.

Harry found he didn't mind going outside though—especially if it was snowing and he was with Ginny Weasley.

The two of them crept across the yard and back to the corner of the shed, where they'd been hiding earlier. Neville and Luna were by the entryway, talking quietly.

"…I know it was a trap, and it's not Christmas anymore," Neville was saying softly.

"Oh, but I don't care," Luna responded, sounding equally curious and excited.

Ginny grabbed Harry's wrist so hard the circulation nearly cut off. The corner of the shed was blocking their view somewhat, but they could see Luna well-enough. She was trailing a finger across Neville's face almost absently as she gazed at the mistletoe above them.

Neville—who had faced down Voldemort's death threats unflinchingly—looked so pale Harry was legitimately worried for his friend.

But then everything came to a pause as both parties simultaneously seemed to come to a decision. Luna stood on her toes and Neville leaned his head down. They met in a brief and somewhat clumsy kiss.

Harry beamed despite himself.

Ginny clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from giggling out loud.

Neville and Luna kissed a few more times, then parted, the former laughing, the latter smiling.

"That was quite nice," Luna commented. "I had imagined it being so, but it is good to be proven correct."

Neville, still laughing, bent down and kissed her again.

Ginny, apparently unable to contain herself, whistled loudly. Harry's face flushed crimson as Neville and Luna spotted them.

"Harry? Ginny? Did you see that?" Luna immediately asked, not the faintest bit upset. Neville appeared a little less enthusiastic about being spied on, but evidently his own bliss won out, because he greeted both of them with a sheepishly happy grin.

"Sorry, mate. Couldn't resist," Harry confessed, before shaking Neville's hand as if he'd won a contest.

Luna's nose was bright red from the cold, so Ginny suggested that they all go inside.

"But what about the rock?"

"Oh…um…Hermione found it, not surprisingly," Harry lied.

"She really does need to watch out for the Didicit Recruiters. But coco does sound lovely," Luna agreed, walking dazedly by Neville's side.

Harry had no idea where his friends' romance was heading, but joy was contagious and he felt twice as happy to see them beaming at each other. Ginny evidently felt the same way. She intertwined her fingers with Harry's and skipped in a very Luna-ish manner back to the Burrow.

Their friends and family were all waiting inside, cheerfully bantering about Quidditch, and Teddy's hair-colors, and whether Hagrid should reinstate the Blast-ended Shrewts in his lesson-plan for the upcoming term.

Neville and Luna sat down hand-in-hand by Ron and Hermione, who were looking quite interested in what had transpired. Harry and Ginny sat in the midst of everyone and exchanged gleeful looks.

Even if life spiraled into a thousand different directions in the upcoming years, Harry doubted he would ever forget the best Christmas Break of his life. Because that's what it truly had been, he thought, smiling at Ginny.

The best.


End file.
